Six years ago, Washington seemed near a tipping point. Supported by strong vintages from 2005–08, this rapidly growing wine region seemed to be emerging from California’s long shadow and ready to gain broader awareness.

Then the lingering effects of the Great Recession hit home. Consumers tightened their purse strings and bought less expensive wines, challenging the state’s numerous boutique wineries. Successive cool vintages in 2010 and 2011 produced an abundance of high-quality wines, but wines that were less accessible than the norm.

Today, propelled by the landmark 2012 vintage and the three strong years that followed, Washington’s time may have finally arrived.

From afar, it can seem surprising that Washington is able to grow wine grapes at all. Many equate the state with ­often-soggy Seattle.

“When I travel, people always say, ‘It’s cold and rainy there. How do you ripen Cabernet?’ ” says Chris Peterson, winemaker for Avennia in Woodinville.

Bob Betz, MW, winemaker for Betz Family Winery, has had similar experiences:

“You get a novice wine drinker and they think, ‘Washington. That’s just south of Anchorage, right?’ ”

“Even when we have a ­challenging vintage, the wines are still good-plus or better. That’s not a bad problem to have.”

While you may chuckle, it’s no laughing matter to the state’s wineries. Washington’s association with rain-soaked Seattle and confusion with the nation’s capital have long been hindrances to growing the state’s wine brand.

While Seattle does see more than its fair share of gray, gloomy days, almost all of ­Washington’s wine grapes are grown hundreds of miles to the east. There, thanks to a rain shadow caused by the craggy Cascade Range, lies a desert region with 300 days of sunshine, averaging just 5–8 inches of rainfall each year. (Seattle averages 38 inches.)

“People are always surprised how dry it is here,” says Chris Figgins, president and ­winemaking director at Figgins Family Wine Estates in Walla Walla. “Most people think of the Northwest as a wet, green place. People don’t understand that we’ve got this whole different climate in the eastern part of the state.”

Washington’s Columbia Valley—which encompasses almost all of the state’s ­grape-growing ­regions—is so dry that viticulture would be impossible in most locations without ­irrigation. However, water from various rivers and aquifers, along with consistently warm summers, give the state’s grape growers a high ­degree of control during the growing season.

“With irrigation, we have the capacity to control canopy growth, shoot length, berry size and cluster weight,” says Marty Clubb, co-owner and managing winemaker at L’Ecole No 41 in Lowden. “It’s a very ­powerful tool.”

The results are consistent, high-quality wines across vintages.

“We’re one of the more reliable places on the planet to grow grapes,” says Figgins. “In our almost 40-year history at Leonetti Cellar, we’ve never had a harvest compromised by weather. If you look around the world, that’s pretty unusual.”

Clubb agrees: “Even when we have a ­challenging vintage, the wines are still good-plus or better. That’s not a bad problem to have.”

While consistent quality across vintages is indeed one of the state’s calling cards, not all vintages are created equal.

“I used to read that we didn’t have any vintage variation in Washington,” says grower Dick Boushey, of Boushey Vineyards in the Yakima Valley. “Well we do, and it can be both subtle and dramatic.”

The last six years have provided examples of both. After the warm 2009 growing season was punctuated by a fall frost, the next year saw the coolest growing season in more than a decade. Wines were noticeably higher in acid and less accessible immediately than normal, but also offered focused fruit flavors and tremendous cellaring potential. The 2011 season was cooler still, producing lighter, more ­elegant wines than usual.

Heat accumulation during the growing season matched 20-year averages, resulting in an abundance of top-quality wines.

“Virtually all of the wines on the shelf are good,” Clubb says. “We had such excellent conditions for ripening in terms of fruitfulness, acidity and structural balance. The wines just came out near perfect.”

One word recurs when talking with growers and winemakers about the 2012 vintage.

“The 2012 wines are what Washington does so well,” says Figgins. “They’re voluptuous and fruit driven, with big, thick middles, but with good acid. They are really, really pretty wines.

It’s balance, says Betz. “Regardless of variety or vineyard, there’s a purity, balance and harmony that the grapes had in 2012, and you can see it in the wines.”

The results are prototypically Washington.

“The 2012 wines are what Washington does so well,” says Figgins. “They’re voluptuous and fruit driven, with big, thick middles, but with good acid. They are really, really pretty wines. It’s a great year for consumers to benchmark Washington.”

In some ways, the state’s 2012s can be deceptive. The aromas and flavors are so generous and appealing that it’s easy to think the wines might just shine in their youth and then quickly fade. But there’s enough flavor intensity and structural stuffing to offer immediate appeal and cellaring potential—the best of both worlds.

“People sometimes think the 2012s will be early drinking wines, but I don’t agree with that,” Peterson says. “There’s richness and complexity with a lot of depth and a lot of structure. I think they’re going to have a long life.”

The three subsequent, increasingly warm vintages also have winemakers giddy with anticipation, beginning with the 2013s, just starting to hit shelves.

“There’s more muscle to the ’13s,” Betz says. “A greater sense of ripeness and fatness. But if you made good decisions on viticulture and picking date, they can be every bit as ­balanced.”

Figgins calls the ’13s “darker and a little more forward” than the super-approachable ’12s, also noting that they “have a bit more grip behind them and are a bit more focused.”

So far, ­the vintage also seems to be particularly strong in the value tier, which is something consumers can celebrate.

Though 2014 and 2015 can be described as hot and hotter, the state seems to have come through just fine, especially with more acreage devoted to heat-loving Cabernet Sauvignon.

“When it’s warm, like in ’14 and ’15, if it cools down during final maturation like it did, you end up with smaller berries, thicker skins and superb quality,” Clubb says. “That’s what we got.”

Six years after Washington’s wine industry seemed poised to bust out, it yet again looks ready to make a splash. Four high-quality vintages coming to the shelves will help do just that. Perhaps now, people will no longer ask winemakers which side of the ­Potomac the grapes are grown on.

Cab & Cab Blends

Quilceda Creek 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley); $140, 95 points. All Cabernet from Champoux, Klipsun, Palengat and Wallula vineyards, this wine offers aromas of blackberry, incense, blueberry, pencil lead and barrel spices. On the palate, it’s tightly wound with black fruit flavors and a firm backbone of tannins. The oak is primary right now. It needs extended time in the cellar to show itself fully, and will be best from 2022–30. Cellar Selection.

Figgins 2012 Estate (Walla Walla Valley); $85, 94 points. Closed up at present, this aromatic brooder has notes of red and black fruit, scorched earth and herbs, along with a floral top note. It has a mountain-fruit profile of firm, chewy tannins, tart acids and dense flavors. Time in the cellar is required to fully appreciate it. Let it be until at least 2020, but it should have a good 15 years beyond that. Cellar Selection.

3

Merlot

Woodward Canyon 2013 Merlot (Columbia Valley); $52, 93 points. Wood spice and vanillin are out in front on the aromas followed by mocha, raspberry and dark fruit. The palate brings lush, concentrated flavors and a finish with lots of hangtime. It drinks beautifully out of the gate, but should have a long life ahead of it. Editors’ Choice.

Stevens 2012 Stevens Merlot (Yakima Valley); $32, 92 points. This blend of DuBrul and Meek vineyard fruit broods with aromas of dark raspberries and licorice. Ripe fruit flavors accompany exquisitely balanced tannins and acidity. It’s drinking well now, but should have a long life in front of it. Editors’ Choice.

Reviews wines from Washington and Idaho

In addition to his work at Wine Enthusiast, Sean P. Sullivan is the founder of Washington Wine Report, a site dedicated to the wines and wineries of the Pacific Northwest that has twice been named ‘Best Single Subject Wine Blog’ by the Wine Blog Awards. Sullivan has authored over 100 print articles on Northwest wine. He resides in Seattle, Washington.